Despite her loss, CiCi Bellis is still the story of the 2014 U.S. Open

It was going to be the quintessential U.S. Open story. An American teenager, completely unknown three days ago, playing in front of a raucous, partisan crowd in one of those late-night matches that’s synonymous with New York City. She was hoping to continue her unlikely advance through the women’s draw, gaining fans, followers and believers each step of the way. It’d be like Jimmy Connors in reverse — the Benjamin Button version — an American star winning the hearts of her country at the start of her career, not the end.

But things didn’t go quite according to plan. CiCi Bellis, the 15-year-old from San Francisco who on Tuesday became the youngest player to win a U.S. Open match in 18 years, couldn’t hold in her her second-round match against Zarina Diyas, who won 6-3, 0-6, 6-2.

(USA TODAY Sports Images)

Late in the match, there was a stretch when Bellis seemed to be finding the magic that led her to a first-round upset of No. 12 Dominika Cibulkova. She won seven straight games from the start of the second set to the beginning of the third. Her breathless pace of play, which would have seemed savvy if it didn’t belie her youth, seemed to rattle Diyas, who isn’t exactly a seasoned veteran at age 20. The crowd was loudly on her side — almost too enthusiastically; Diyas unforced errors were greeted with the same cheers as Bellis winners. The momentum shift was clear. Bellis led 1-0 in the final set. Diyas was serving. A quick break and it all might be over and CiCi Bellis would be the sports story of the moment.

It wasn’t to be. Diyas won five straight games and despite a gutsy hold at 1-5 and one saved match point at 2-5, Bellis didn’t have enough in her reserves to pull the comeback.

(Getty Images)

ESPN2 showed the match in full, completely ignoring the marquee game on Arthur Ashe Stadium, one that featured Andy Murray, one of the biggest stars in the sport. It was like the parking lot band upstaging The Rolling Stones. The crowd at the new Court 17 had filed in hours before, sitting through a men’s five-setter so they could say they were for CiCi’s march through New York.

In both her high and low moments, Bellis provided plenty of reminders that she was only 15. Few of these had to do with her actual game, which was quite mature. She retrieved her own balls and walked to the ballboys to get her towel instead of waiting for them to come to her. When the crowd began chanting her name after she won her first game of the match, Bellis didn’t come close to stifling her smile.

(Getty Images)

Is there a bright side to the loss, perhaps? The hype Bellis received in the middle of this week would have been nothing compared to the onslaught she’d have faced if she’d won on Thursday. All the morning shows and sports shows and talk shows would want a piece of CiCi. She’d be preordained for future greatness. Her status as “the next big thing” would be considered an inevitability. That’s too much pressure for a 15-year-old in a sport that’s steadily aged up.

Melanie Oudin is the cautionary tale, of course. She rode a wave of hype and inspirational shoe slogans to an upset of Maria Sharapova and a shock quarterfinal berth in the 2009 Open, then quickly fell off the tennis map. During her magical Open run, Oudin won four matches. In the 20 Grand Slams played since then, Oudin won a total of four matches. One may have nothing to do with the other, but there’s little good that can come from inflated, and misguided, expectations.

Bellis was upbeat after the loss, focusing on the fun she had this week rather than the tough two hours she’d just experienced. That’s the proper perspective. There are lots of matches to be played in the future, whether at the junior, college or professional level. But no matter what CiCi Bellis does with her tennis career, she’ll always have New York in 2014.

Despite her loss, CiCi Bellis is still the story of the 2014 U.S. Open

The 15-year-old made her mark on the Open.

I found this on FTW and wanted to share:
%link%
For more great sports stories ...
*visit For The Win: https://www.ftw.usatoday.com
*follow @ForTheWin: https://www.twitter.com/forthewin
*like FTW on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/usatodayftw